


Lessons In Love

by the_only_education_worth_having



Category: Actor RPF, American (US) Actor RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anger, Best Friends, Blossoming Friendship, Established Relationship, F/M, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gun Violence, Guns, Gyms, Jealousy, Kidnapping, Lawyers, Male-Female Friendship, Nursing, Original Character(s), Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Stalking, Trust Issues, Violence, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-03-15 17:20:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 18,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13618044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_only_education_worth_having/pseuds/the_only_education_worth_having
Summary: She's never been lucky in love. She's about to become even luckier.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU where Chris is not famous. Don't know how many chapters it will be but w/ev.

Did you know you can die from a broken heart? It’s true. There’s a medical condition called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy and it’s caused by stress or grief which leads to the muscles in your heart to become weaker which could kill you. It’s actually called “broken heart syndrome”.

But I’ve found that love can kill you in other ways too. And sure, it’s true what they say, love is patient and love is kind and all that crap but it’s also true that love is dangerous. It can blind you. It can leave you vulnerable to things you didn’t ever see coming. 

Which is how I ended up here, locked in the trunk of a car screaming myself hoarse in the futile hope that someone might actually hear me. As the car slows to an eventual holt I can hear the movement of him getting out the driver’s seat just barely over my heart beat thumping in my ears. As fear surges through my body I stop shouting, my throat dry. 

I can’t move. My arms are tethered but my legs are heavy having gone numb from being crammed into the trunk for however long it had been. With a click, the trunk unlatched popped open and though my eyes don’t take long to adjust to the low-lit room they still sting.

He stands there looking down at me, the crooked smile I used to love plastered on his face though its corners are turned down signalling pure menace and rage. 

I can’t stand to look at him anymore so I drop my gaze looking anywhere but his face which is when I spot the gun. 

Its true love can kill you.   
On the other hand, so can hate. 

But I’m getting ahead of myself.


	2. First Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erin's content with her pity party but Maria's not.

I’ve never been a party girl. I don’t know why but it’s just not for me. I understand how people can love it but the monotony of getting wasted to spend time in a cramped sweaty club where you can’t hear, speak, or see properly just doesn’t appeal to me. In college, I went through the motions as societal pressure dictates but once I had some age under my belt I found myself feeling free at the idea of saying no. The friends I had acquired that still wanted to live that way every weekend dropped off and I flourished in my new life. I’d much rather spend my whole night with my friends having dinner or watching a movie than faking being happy with friends that were enjoying themselves.

Not to mention that once you turn 25 the next day hangover starts to hit you like a truck. 

So, I was upset to find out that the apparently the way you’re supposed to deal with a break up is to go wild. Okay, that might not be the way but according to Maria, my oldest friend, it is. 

‘Oh, come on Erin,’ Maria whined at me as a lay on my couch, looking past her towards the TV. I already stated that Maria was my oldest which is why her flair for the dramatic no longer bothered me. In junior high, she could get me to do just about anything by pouting and making it seem as if it were the end of the world by her not getting her way. Annoyed that I was unwilling to play ball she snatched the bag of chips I was eating out of my hands and threw them down on the coffee table before she stood in front of me with her hands on her petite hips a scathing look on her face.   
‘Maria!’ I exclaimed before I leant forward to collect the bag that had spattered out across the faux wood.   
‘Don’t Maria me, you’ve been like this for weeks and it’s not healthy,’ she started, ‘now I’ve played it your way and we’ve sat and moaned and drank and whinged about how unfair life is and how all men are jerks but enough is enough.’  
‘It’s not that simple,’ I said as I leant forward to scoop the broken bits of chips off my coffee table before adding in a saddened voice, ‘and all men are jerks.’  
‘No, they’re not. He was for sure but most men are okay. Well, some men. Well...’  
‘That’s easy for you to say.’  
‘Well I’m just blessed,’ she says, ‘look we’ve done it your way and you’re still no better. I’m just saying, let’s try it my way and then if you still don’t feel better I’ll leave you alone.’  
‘Is that a promise?’ I asked with a wry smile   
‘Yes,’ she said with a roll of her eyes, ‘you know that they say the best way of getting over someone is-’  
‘Getting under someone else. I know, you’ve told me ever so frequently.’  
‘Exactly. So, let’s see how we go.’ 

Maria smiled at me triumphantly before she moved to the mirror hung near my window and started to fix her hair. She watched me in the reflection and an annoyed look befell her as she saw my unmoved form.   
‘Erin, don’t think that I won’t march your ass into that bedroom and get you dressed because I will. Trust me.’  
‘Fine,’ I groaned, ‘but I’m not staying out too late. I’ve got things to do tomorrow.’  
‘Fine.’

And with that, I relented upstairs to my room to get changed. I can’t imagine lounging around on the sofa all day eating and watching cake boss is very good for hygiene and so after I disrobed I decided that I should shower but that it was too much effort to wash my hair and so stuck it up in a bun once I got out. I applied a basic makeup look and then scanned what was in my closet, which was not a lot as I failed to get around to doing my laundry, looking for a decent outfit. Maria appeared not long after I had finished my makeup having heard the shower shut off as she was determined to make me try rather than deliberately sabotage her night by looking subpar.   
‘Jesus Erin,’ she moaned as her eyes flicked across the bare coat hangers that made up most of the closet.  
‘What?’   
‘This closet is a mess. How am I supposed to put a look together with yoga pants, a leather jacket and scrubs?’   
‘You’ll make it work. I’m sure.’

She sighed but started rummaging through my closet and dresser hoping to strike gold. Maria had been dressing me since high school. I had never taken an interest in fashion. I owned some nice clothes, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t my passion, to say the least. I could get a nice outfit together when I put in the effort and my makeup skills were decent. I was hopeless when it came to all things hair so my styles were up in a ponytail or down in all its curly glory. I figure it was because I had lived most of my life in uniform, from the fetching skirt and blouse combo St Mary Immaculate’s had to offer to the range of scrubs I wore in my work as a nurse, so my time in my own clothes was limited. 

Maria, however, was the complete opposite. As her favourite hopeless case, I had allowed her over the years to style me which she did fabulously. I was lucky really. Maria had made a living charging through the nose telling snotty housewives what to buy with an air of derision she had mastered in elementary school. But it was easier for her. She was fairly tall with a slender body, well-proportioned hips and a decent bra size which meant clothes fit her in the way they did the model who was wearing them online. 

I, on the other hand, had not been as fortunate. My body was what was defined as ‘pear-shaped.’ Which in reality means I got my mom’s childbearing hips but my dad’s chest. I wasn’t too bothered by it, I mean there were many things I liked about myself but it just meant that I had to hope any bikini I bought was able to be mix and matched in size.  
‘Here,’ she said as she dumped my black skinny jeans and chiffon top in my arms, ‘use your leather jacket and your black boots and we’re good to go. Vamos.’

Thankful I slipped my underwear on before she came up I dropped my towel on my dresser chair and slipped on the top before popping the pants on after. I grabbed my heeled boots from my closet along with my jacket and once they were on I was ready so Maria and I headed downstairs, collect our purses and left the house to begin the short walk to the train station. As I felt the late February air seep into my bones I begged Maria to hurry up and scroll through the train times on her phone to see how long we’d be waiting in the cold concrete station. She informed me that if we were to hurry we could get the next train which lands in under ten minutes. On normal days this would be no problem, I would power walk in my sneakers and make it there in good time but lumbered down by my boots and the sheen of ice that had descended on the sidewalk whilst we’d been inside I feared I’d struggle. Maria was wearing nothing but a short dress, tights and heels but of course, had no problem. 

We got to the station in the nick of time and clambered into the carriage that took us into the city. I’d not been there in a while. Between work and my own routine, I hadn’t had time. And other than that, I tended to stick near home, not needing to go further unless necessary. I found it strange as I used to go into the city every day when I was in college and my current house is only ten minutes further away by car than my student accommodation was. 

As I am out of touch Maria filled me in on all the places we were going to go as the train rattled through suburbia at lightning speed, as she lives and works in the heart of Boston she’s far more up to date on all the good clubs. We got off the train as it pulled into our stop and moved out into the city streets. She wanted to start at a new Irish pub she’d just discovered downtown and I agreed, hoping I’d have the chance to sink a few drinks before we moved on to dancing. 

The pub was small but busy and as it was a Friday night and the two of us struggled to find a seat. Not long after we arrived party of four vacated a booth along the back wall and we scrambled into as soon as they left.   
‘What do you want to drink?’ Maria asked, as she grabbed her purse and waited for my reply.  
‘I take it I can’t say soda?’  
‘Nope.’  
‘Then surprise me,’ I said, as I sat back in the booth. Maria slid out of the booth and headed to the bar. I watched her as she went before I quickly checked my phone, as my other hand fiddled with a beer mat.

As I stared intently at the screen I was distracted by a noise near me so I looked up to find a man hovering near the booth. He was tall with nice hair and traditional handsome features.   
‘Hi,’ he said, in a low but melodic voice.  
‘Erm, hi,’ I said though I was unsure how to proceed. It would be downright rude to flat out ask him what the hell he wanted but I am in no mood to be hit on. Before he could say anything, another man came up behind him carrying drinks. Maria trailed behind the other man, chatting with him amicably.  
‘Erin,’ Maria started as she slid into the booth next to me, gesturing for the men to follow. The darker haired man deposited the drinks on the table and the two sat down opposite us, each taking a beer. The first man handed me a glass of wine as Maria took hers and continued her spiel.   
‘Erin, this is Sebastian and Chris.’

She gestured at the first man, Chris, who smiled at me politely. Sebastian said hi too and I smiled. Sebastian is just as handsome as his friend but he had a darker air about him, surlier and more serious.   
‘Nice to meet you,’ said Sebastian, ‘I’m glad you decided to come out.’  
‘What do you mean?’   
‘Well, Maria said you weren’t feeling too great so we didn’t know if you’d make it.’  
‘Oh really,’ I asked as I throw Maria a dark glare before turning back to Sebastian.  
‘Yeah,’ Sebastian said with a chuckle, ‘and Chris here would hate to be a third wheel right pal.’  
‘Right,’ Chris said as he gave me a small smile as he sipped on his beer. Sebastian started to talk but I cut him off as I reached to hold Maria’s elbow in a tight grip.  
‘Sorry,’ I said hastening to stand up, Maria in tow, ‘I really need to use the bathroom. So, does Maria, right Maria?’

She agreed fleetingly and the two of us rushed out of the booth and over to the other side of the bar. Once out of sight of the men I turned to her, an annoyed look on my face as I said, ‘You set me up!’  
‘I didn’t set you up!’ Maria scoffed but she relented as I threw her a jaded look, ‘oh alright. I set you up. So, what? I met Sebastian weeks ago, he’s a nice guy and we’ve been having fun. I told him that you needed a night out and that we should all go out and he decided to bring Chris.’  
‘Decided to?’   
‘Okay, I asked him,’ she sighed, ‘look you need something or someone to help you move on! I’m just doing my duty as your best friend.’  
‘I don’t need anyone,’ I answered annoyed, ‘and I hope you haven’t told that guy something that’s not going to happen.’  
Maria didn’t answer me but allowed her eyes to drop to the floor.  
‘Ri, please tell me you didn’t.’  
‘Well not exactly.’  
‘Oh, for God’s sake.’  
‘You could just give it a go. Be open to the idea of not being so annoyed all night and you never know you might even have fun. I’m not saying jump into bed with him but you could talk to him. Talk to me and Sebastian. Just have some drinks and what have you. Please, Erin, I don’t want you moping around forever, he’s really not worth it.’

I sighed. Maria looked at me with pitying eyes and I felt a surge of overwhelming sadness. I thought back over the past few weeks and months at how poorly I’d behaved. I allowed myself to wallow for much too long and I didn’t blame Maria for tricking me into coming. I guessed she was right if she had told me I would have probably ignored her anyway and declined to be involved. Not only that but she as right, I didn’t have to marry the guy. I supposed talking to him, as a friend, wouldn’t be so bad. Given Maria’s track record there was a large doubt whether either of them would be in our lives for very long anyway. 

‘Fine, fine. Let’s go back.’  
‘Will you at least smile?’ Maria asked with a wry smile.  
‘Fine,’ I said trying to force the pout off my face, ‘but you’re buying the wine.’  
‘Fine,’ she replied as she linked my arm and we walked back towards the table giggling.  
‘All night.’  
‘The things I do for my friends huh.’


	3. The Night Rolls On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris and Erin get on the same page

I won’t lie and say the evening was a complete disaster. Admittedly, it could have been the copious amount of wine that Maria supplied that made me think that but hey ho, I couldn’t deny the buzz I had was enough to keep me happy. Maria was all over Sebastian. He was nice, I’ll admit, and good looking too. He was a lawyer, as was his friend, and he and Maria had met when about a month ago when he had done some legal work for the boutique she worked at. Chris was polite and spoke to me quite a bit, which I was thankful for as I desperately didn’t want to feel like a third and fourth wheel. In fact, he was entirely lovely, if the circumstances were different I’d even say I was attracted to him.

‘Yeah, just like that,’ Chris said finishing his story.   
‘That’s crazy,’ I agreed with a laugh, looking at Maria who was looking at the barman and then Sebastian, ‘right Ri?’  
‘What-oh yeah. That’s a great story’

Sebastian sipped the rest of his beer in one go and put his bottle down on the table with a clunk. He held Maria’s hand across the table looking at her expectantly as he said, ‘Ready to go, babe?’

She smiled though it was quick as she bethought herself and looked at me with her serious face. My stomach dropped, knowing whatever she was about to say to me would be bad news. She opened her mouth to speak but her voice came out unlike her, its bounce and flare had gone replaced by a flat tone.   
‘Erin.’  
‘Oh, what?’ I said already knowing what she was going to say.  
‘Seb and I were talking earlier and I think we’re gonna make a move early. I mean I know we said we were going to go “out-out” but you don’t mind, right?’ 

I looked at her in disbelief but shook myself out. I didn’t want to kick up a fuss, not in front of people I didn’t know. I’d say I was shocked but this was typical of Maria, she flaked quite a bit and I supposed I hadn’t wanted to come in the first place and so I shouldn’t really complain. But in spite of myself, I had started to have a good time. I didn’t really want to leave, even so much that I was willing to join them at another bar or club. Maria saw these emotions pass by my face instantaneously and though I hadn’t wanted to make her feel bad she obviously felt so.   
‘I’m sorry Erin, really I just we haven’t seen each other all week and this weekend is super busy for work and everything you don’t mind do you I promise that I’ll make-’  
‘Ri stop,’ I said waving her from the edge of panic, ‘honestly, it’s not that big of a deal. As long as I’ve fulfilled your bargain or whatever I’m down with you two going having fun.’

She looked at me, the worry still on her face before it turned into a smirk matching the one I gave her at my suggestive tone on the word fun.   
‘Of course, you have. Well okay, maybe not everything but I’ll get you there. You sure you don’t want us to stay.’  
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ I said looking at Seb who seemed to be on edge to leave, ‘go! I mean it, look at this poor boy you’re gonna make him die if you make him wait any longer.’  
‘Okay, okay. We’re going, we’re going.’

Maria leaned in and gave me a hug and a peck on the cheek before standing up. Her hands slipped from my grasp and she and Sebastian moved out of the booth donning their coats in preparation to leave. Sebastian said his goodbyes to Chris as did Maria. They were just about to leave when Maria turned back to me and with a panicked look and said, ‘Oh my god! How are you going to get home?’  
‘What?’  
‘I totally forgot. How are you going to get home!?’  
‘I’ll rollerblade,’ I said sarcastically before laughing, ‘how do you think I’m going to get home. Same way I got here.’  
‘Won’t you have missed the last train?’ Sebastian asked checking his watch.   
‘I don’t think so,’ I said, ‘what time is it?’  
‘Half past one,’ Sebastian replied.  
‘Damn,’ I sighed. If I had known that Maria wasn’t coming out I would have gone earlier and gotten the train. I didn’t mind getting a cab or an Uber but it was just so much more of a hassle, ‘it’s alright. I’ll get a cab.’  
‘You can’t do that! It’s half one and you’re a woman on your own. If your mother knew I’d never hear the end of it.’  
‘If your mother hears about it you’ll never hear the end of it.’  
‘True.’  
‘I’ve no other way Maria-’  
‘Well, I could take you home.’

I paused looking at where the voice had come from. Chris sat there simply looking at me and Maria with an expectant face.   
‘What?’  
‘I could take you home, I mean you live in Brighton right, that’s not too far out.’  
‘You don’t mind?’ Maria asked.  
‘I couldn’t. I honestly don’t mind getting a cab.’  
‘Don’t sweat it. Really, I’d rather do that then you end up on the news in some hacksaw murder or whatever. Like you said what would your mother say.’  
‘Right,’ Sebastian said decisively, ‘that’s settled. Thanks, man.’  
‘No problem,’ Chris said.   
‘Ready to go, babe?’ Sebastian asked looking at Maria. Finally, content with leaving she said goodbye again and with that, the two of them whisked out of the door in a flash. 

‘Do you think they’re going to get to the car before they’re all over each other?’ Chris chuckled.  
‘No,’ I laughed.  
‘Want another one?’ he gestured to the near-empty glasses on the table. I pondered it for a moment. I had quite the buzz, even though Maria leaving had put a downer on my mood but nevertheless, I replied, ‘Yeah sure. Why not?  
‘Cool. Same again?’  
I nodded and Chris picked up our empty glasses and headed to the bar. 

Though it was near last orders we ended up staying in the pub for quite some time. We got onto the subject of home and chatted about growing up in Boston and work. He was a bit older than me but not so much that we couldn’t find a common topic to talk about. And as his life was quite similar to mine we had a lot to talk about, which was nice. Born on the outskirts of Boston he grew up in a big Catholic family. He’d gone to school and college – where he’d met Seb before he’d became a lawyer eventually landing a good job in the city at Sebastian’s fathers firm. I told him a bit about my family and growing up with Maria. I spoke little about my job preferring to listen rather than share. 

We only stopped when the burly bartender walked past us for the 40th time trying to drop the hint for us to leave. Looking around I noticed all the chairs and stools were on the tables around us and we seemed to be the only ones inside the pub bar the hulking owner and the sleek blonde barmaid that was watching us in annoyance.

‘I think we should probably make a move,’ I muttered. With a flicker of dejection, he stopped talking and watched me as I jerked my head to the staff who were eagerly awaiting our departure.   
‘You wanna go now?’  
‘I think it’s probably best.’

Chris downed the rest of his drink and stood. I mimicked his movements and the two of us moseyed out of the bar and into the street. It was freezing by now and even with my coat on I could feel myself starting to shiver.   
‘Cold?’ Chris asked.   
‘Freezing.’   
‘Don’t worry I didn’t park that far away. I’m just down the street.’

He moved quickly, even though it was icy, and I struggled to keep up. He looked at me a step behind him and smiled falling back slightly. In his 6ft man strides I imagine the car was quite close but my short legs and the cold made it seem as if he were parked a mile away but eventually we got to it. A sleek black thing that he unlocked swiftly and moved into the driver’s seat of. I moved quickly and threw myself into the passenger seat beside him thankful that he had already started up the heating by the time I was in. 

‘Thank God,’ I whined as I rubbed my hands vigorously, ‘I didn’t realise how cold I actually was.’  
‘I know, are you warming up any?’ he asked. 

I nodded and he smiled at me before he pulled off into the deserted street. Silence fell between the two of us as he manoeuvred out of downtown Boston and I felt the urge fill it though I didn’t know what to say now it was just the two of us. I think he sensed my apprehension as he reached out and fiddled with the knob on the dashboard which turned on the radio allowing a late night soft rock station ring out through the car. 

It was a while before we actually spoke and he was the to initiate it.  
‘You know I had a great time tonight.’  
‘Yeah me too,’ I admitted truthfully.  
‘Better than you expected, huh.’  
‘Yeah, I was expecting to be dragged from club to club being felt up by drunk guys but I was happy how it turned out. Maria made the right call.’  
‘Well I’m glad me and Seb could help,’ he chuckled.   
‘You did.’

We were moving quickly through the city, the light traffic on the road this time of night made it easy for Chris to speed through the old streets seamlessly and out into the neighbourhoods.   
‘You know when Maria told me about you-’  
‘Maria told you about me?’ I asked perplexed.  
‘Well yeah when she asked me to come because she was bringing you along-’  
‘So Seb didn’t just ask her out last minute, it was a setup?’ I asked looking at him annoyed. 

He glanced at me for a second before turning his eyes back to the road as his face fell a little.   
‘You’re mad.’  
‘I’m not mad,’ I said though my voice was far too tense to deny my frustration. I couldn’t believe she had tried to set me up like this. I couldn’t help but feel so dense that I hadn’t seen it coming. Her picking a pub she’d never mentioned before, them just showing up ‘randomly’, her and Sebastian ducking out early. I should have seen it before but I didn’t. And know I had to explain to this perfectly fine guy that even though I’d had a nice time and he was really sweet and charming I had absolutely no interest in him that way. I wasn’t ready.   
I looked at Chris who had fallen silent and I sighed. 

‘Sorry, look I’m not mad honestly. I just can’t- was this a date?’  
‘Well, I guess not.’  
‘Was it supposed to be?’  
‘Not really. Look I didn’t mean to get Maria in trouble she swung by the office the other day and we were chatting she said she was looking to take you out and meet someone and Seb automatically volunteered me-’  
‘Let me guess she told me she was trying to get me into bed with someone and a complete mess at the minute and you jumped at the chance-’  
‘Don’t be ridiculous. She just said that you’d gone through a rough patch and you were looking to meet someone new, not for dating as such just. Look, I’m sorry alright. I get the message you aren’t into me that way, it’s okay.’  
‘I didn’t mean it like that,’ I sighed, ‘honestly I don’t I’m just annoyed at Maria. When I asked her if it were a setup she made it seem like you’d just shown up not that she intended something to happen. I mean I wasn’t, it’s not like- never mind. Anyway, I told her I wasn’t ready for anything like this and she knows that. Not just with you with anyone. And don’t get me wrong, you’re amazing. Truly. You’re funny and charming and cute if I were in a different place in my life right now I’d be grateful for the setup, I’m just not. I hope you understand.’

Chris sighed, we were pulling into my neighbourhood now and he seemed to be concentrating on the sat nav that he had on the dashboard rather than answering me and the sense of dread appeared in my gut. I felt horrifically embarrassed at the speech as I had been forced to give in an attempt to explain myself. After what seemed like an eternity he finally spoke.  
‘I understand, besides it’s not as if this was a set up date that went terribly. Maria just said you were a great girl and she was right. We chatted and had fun, I’ve spent my Friday nights in worse ways believe me,’ he said with a chuckle looking at me expectantly. I chuckled too and we started laughing quite a bit. By now he turned into my street was coming up to the front of my house.   
‘It’s that one just there,’ I said pointing a little way down the street and allowing him to pull up on the other side of the road just in front of it. 

Chris pulled the car in and cut the engine. He turned to me with a smile though it dimmed slightly as he said, ‘I hope I didn’t upset you too much.’  
‘No, you didn’t. I’m just glad you understand.’  
‘I do, I get it.’  
‘Good. Well, I had a nice night even though I completely let myself down for a while there.’  
‘You didn’t, besides at least we can still be friends, right?’  
‘Right. Anyway, I should go,’ I said.  
‘Yeah,’ Chris replied before he leant in and gave me a one-armed hugged goodbye. I pulled out of it quickly and grabbed my clutch reaching for the car door and swinging it open. The warmth that had surrounded me in the car was gone now as I walked to my front door feeling Chris’ eyes on me as I went. 

I turned back as I reached the door, and after a quick smile and wave, I disappeared into my home. I flicked the light on in the hall as I rested against the door. Fatigued I stood there and I forced my shoes off with my feet and placed my coat up on the rack behind the door. 

As I ambled upstairs I thought over the night. I didn’t know quite how I felt. Sure, I was angry at Maria for not being honest with me though getting out of the house seemed to be the best thing that had happened to me all week. I had enjoyed myself despite my moaning. Also feeling all embarrassed was probably ridiculous as it was unlikely I’d ever even see Chris again. 

Feeling sleepy, the effect of the booze finally hitting me, and after wiping off all of my makeup I shed all of my clothes and grabbed pyjamas from the hamper before climbing in bed. I opened my phone and crafted a message to Maria telling her to call me in the morning so we could speak and clicked it off ready for sleep. Before placing it on my bedside table it shook in my hand and I turned it around to look at the notification. 

Facebook Notification 03:05 am.   
Chris Evans has requested to be your friend. 

Yeah. I’m never going to see him again.


	4. Working Lunch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erin and Chris sort of do lunch

‘I’m not mad I just think you should’ve told me,’ I said as I leant my arms across the glass-topped desk which Maria resided behind. It was my day off and we were heading out for lunch as we always did once a week.   
‘Erin, I know you better than anyone. You wouldn’t have come,’ she muttered as she tapped rapidly away on her keyboard hoping to finish some of her journalistic work before she closed up the shop and left with me.   
‘I wouldn’t have,’ I bit back though she looked at me disbelievingly and I dropped my stance, ‘ anyway where are we going for lunch?’   
‘Valentino’s?’   
‘We went there last week.’  
‘We go there nearly every week.’  
‘Well let’s have a change then,’ I chuckled.  
‘There’s a deli by Seb’s office, he took me to it the other day. The food is gorgeous.’  
‘How far is it?’  
‘Not too far.’  
‘Alright then,’ I consented. After closing down her computer she stood and grabbed her coat and bag from under the desk before joining me outside. We hailed a cab and headed to the small deli around ten minutes from her work. 

‘You should try the bagel’s they’re amazing!’  
‘When did you come here?’  
‘About a week ago. Seb finally was able to get out of the office and for lunch so we had a dinner date.’  
‘How are things going with you two?’  
‘Good.’  
‘Not jumped ship yet?’ I asked. Though my words seemed unempathetic there was no snark in my tone. Maria was not one to spend a lot of time in relationships. She claimed that it was due to the fact she often got bored but there was something deeper to it. In our late teens, she had had her first serious boyfriend Mark. She’d loved him so much and after a year together he ended it out of the blue. After that, her twenties were spent bouncing around from person to person and it seemed not to be slowing down.   
‘No. Actually I quite like this one. He’s nice.’  
‘Nice? Is that it?’  
‘Well, he's a lot of other things too but nice is good.’ 

Her phone pinged on the table and with a quick smile, she looked down to check her messages. ‘Speak of the devil.’  
‘What does he want?’   
‘Asking if I want to grab a bite.’  
‘Is he coming here?’  
‘Nah, I was just going to say I’ll see him later. Lunch is our thing, I thought you’d want-’  
‘I’m not bothered. If he’s free now and the office is only around the corner he might as well join us. Anyway, I didn’t get to give my full best friend stamp of approval the other day. It ended too quickly,’ I said with an edge but Maria rolled her eyes in retaliation.   
‘It’s okay, I like our lunches’ she said with a smile.  
‘Well, why don’t you tell him we’ll bring him some lunch. To the office?’  
‘That’s sweet, what a good idea,’ she picked up her phone with a look of genuine excitement that warmed my heart. Maybe her love life hadn’t slowed down until now. 

Maria ordered and by the time we had finished our meal, it was ready for us to collect. With a carrier bag in hand, the two of us made our way to a large stone building a couple blocks over. It was concrete and drab, especially in the bitter winter backdrop though the inside was completely the opposite. All sleek black interior and glass doors I looked around, thinking that this was decorated in a way that screamed money. Maria led me to the fourth floor which was made up of a large open space and wall to wall offices. I followed her to the closest one and she knocked on the frosted glass door gently before opening it and entering. Seb’s office was a large room surrounded in a glass though its interior décor felt so masculine. Seb was dressed as he had been the first time I had met him. However, his suit was far more ironed than it had been in the pub and his sleeves were resting at his wrists. His hair was slightly longer now despite the week difference and it seemed to be gelled back. 

Maria strutted in to greet him and immediately started kissing him, leaving me stood there watching like a third wheel. I would have been completely useless if I hadn’t been holding the bag full of food. Once she was finally able to peel her lips off of him he looked over at me and said hi before we chatted briefly about the weather and my first time at the deli. I could feel the shift in the air as I stood there and sensing the couples need to be alone I quickly made an excuse of wanting to use the restroom and gave them some space. As I moseyed down the hallway I noted the heaps of art that had been purchased all for decoration. I couldn’t quite tell if they were originals or copies but what my limited knowledge of the art world told me was that each canvas costs a pretty penny. 

‘You know that print cost more than my car,’ said a low dulcet voice from behind me. I turned around to find Chris leaning against a doorframe with his arms folded.   
‘I can imagine,’ I said with a smirk, ‘though I know what you drive so woah.’  
‘Are you saying my cars too expensive?’  
‘Well, you know what they say about a man with a big car.’  
‘Oh yeah, what’s that?’ he said with a smile.  
‘He’s obviously compensating for something.’  
‘What about a man with expensive wall art?’  
‘He’s compensating for something else. But it’s not size related.’  
‘Damn. And here I thought I had people fooled.’  
‘What can I say, women just know these things.’

As the banter died down Chris said, ‘hey, how are you doing?’  
‘Good you?’  
‘Yeah, I’m good… not to be rude but what are you doing here exactly?’  
I moved towards him so we were no longer talking down the corridor and he moved into his office. I followed as he did explaining how I had come with Maria to bring Seb some lunch.  
‘That bastard I thought we were going out grabbing something to eat. He could have told me.’  
‘Well, I think he’s got other things on his mind. They only managed to pull off of each other for 40 seconds so I don’t think he’s going to be eating that sandwich anytime soon.’  
‘So, you’re stuck waiting huh?’   
‘Yeah,’ I sighed. I looked around his office. It was unlike the others that made up most of the floor. While Chris grabbed a couple of files and situated back at his desk I moved around the office. Though it had the principle look of a floor to ceiling window and one frosted glass wall its other two walls were sturdy and seemed to be made up of mostly shelves which housed hundreds of books. This room seemed homelier. Whereas Seb’s office was all edges and metallic this was softer somehow, the plush couch and chairs complementing the ornate desk that took up a lot of the room. Out of the window gave an impressive vast view of the city making the whole room feel cosier. 

Chris seemed to contrast Sebastian in this way too, where Seb had been all prim and proper Chris seemed more laid back. He was dressed formally, as I supposed he was required to but it didn’t seem as straight-laced. Clad in a suit he was missing a tie and the jacket was slung across the back of his chair but the look didn’t seem messy, the suspenders he was wearing seemed to make it somewhat casual. 

‘Well feel free to stay here if you want.’  
‘And I didn’t even bring you lunch,’ I quipped as I descended into the chair opposite his desk.  
‘I guess you’ll just have to owe me.’  
‘Use of your office. A ride home. My debts are mounting up.’  
‘Good job I’m lenient.’  
‘You’re a lawyer, knowing my luck I’ll get home and find a letter on my doorstep telling me you’re suing me.’  
‘Here I was just having my assistant draft it.’  
‘Assistant, fancy,’ I drew out on the word and enunciated it with a wiggle of my eyebrows making Chris laugh, ’well, almost as much as that painting,’

I was enjoying ribbing on him. Chris chuckled and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk where he was now situated. 

‘You always go into people’s places of work and bash on their careers.’  
‘Just lawyers.’  
‘What’s wrong with lawyers?’   
‘Nothing. They’re just easy to bash on, you know the whole soulless, money grabbing aesthetic.’  
‘We’re not all like that,’ Chris said a slight hurt look on his face.  
‘I’m joking. Besides I heard lawyers were the best to bash on. They’ve got a comeback for everything.’  
‘In that case, I think you chose the wrong career.’  
‘I guess I lost my way.’  
‘Yeah, I mean is healing the sick that much better than shady deals and stacks of money.’  
‘I guess I’ll never know. You remembered I was a nurse?’  
‘Yeah,’ he said as if it were stating the obvious, ‘you work at St Elizabeth’s, right?’

My heart stuttered. I remembered telling him about my work as a nurse but I never remembered mentioning my place of work. His eyes read my face and he became all flustered before blurting out, ‘I’m not a stalker, honest. It came up in conversation with Maria one time and when I added you on Facebook it says on your page, I’m not a freak, I’m just trained to notice things that’s all.’  
‘Yeah, I figured,’ I said embarrassed that my first thought had jumped to serial killer rather than something obvious, ‘I guess you need to know where to send my subpoena if I won’t answer the house letters, huh?’  
‘You really got a comeback for everything huh?’ he asked with mirth.  
‘Mmhmm.’  
‘You really could be a lawyer.’

The door swung open, catching Chris’ attention and then mine in turn, and revealed Maria and Seb who appeared somewhat more dishevelled than when I had left them.  
‘Thought you might be in here,’ Seb said with a smile as he entered.  
‘Yeah, we were just chatting,’ Chris said.   
‘Us too,’ Maria said though her smudged lipstick suggested that was a lie, ‘sorry Chris I’m going to have to nab back my best friend. It’s nearly the end of my lunch hour.’  
‘No problem,’ Chris said with a smile. I stood and grabbed my bag giving Maria a suggestive stare that made her blush. Chris and Sebastian were talking in a low tone about the files Seb had brought into the office with him. 

‘See you later guys,’ I said with a wave and the two of them looked up with a smile as they waved us out. I reached the door Maria was stood at but before I left I turned and said, ‘hey Chris?’  
Chris looked up as did Seb who was perched on the corner of his friend’s desk in curiosity.  
‘How about we do lunch at my work next time? That way you get something to eat and there’s plenty of empty beds for these two.’

I left the room just as Chris threw his head back in a laugh and clutched his chest and I was followed by a very red Maria.


	5. Party People

Maria 10:04 am  
Heyy   
Me 10:06 am  
Hey  
Maria 10:06 am  
Are you busy Friday night? Xx  
Me: 10:10am  
Don’t think so, why? x  
Maria 10:13 am  
Seb’s birthday is then and his parents are throwing him a big party. He wanted to invite you x   
If you want to go that is   
Or you could leave me all on my own.  
Me 10:14 am  
Oh calm down you drama queen hahaha  
Yeah, I’ll come, I’m not doing anything anyway   
Maria 10:14 am  
Thank you, thank you, thank you!   
Apparently, he has one every year but his mom and dad throw it so they invite all their posh friends. I’ve never met them either so I’m super nervous  
Me 10:15 am  
Well I’ll be there to keep you ladylike  
Maria 10:16 am  
Thank God!

 

And that was how I found myself pulling up outside one of the nicest houses I’d ever seen in Boston’s fanciest neighbourhoods. Maria had babbled non-stop since I had picked her up and I hadn’t stopped her, I punctuated the conversation with frequent words to make it seem as if it were a dialogue but I knew it was important I kept quiet and let her get rid of whatever nervous energy she was harbouring in response to meeting Seb’s parents for the first time.

‘It’s up here on the right,’ she said pointing at three-story townhouse tucked at the end of the street, which was crammed full of cars. I was finally able to tuck my car in behind a shiny black Lexus and Maria and I got out. We walked up the steps, out straightening out our coats as we went, heading to the door. Maria knocked quickly before looking at me with one nervous look.  
‘How do I look?’ Maria asked.  
‘Good,’ I replied, ‘just breathe.’  
‘I know, I know. I just don’t even remember the last time I met someone’s parents.’

Before I could reply the doors parted, opening to reveal a tall polished man who bared a strong resemblance to Seb though he was noticeably greyer around the ears.   
‘Good evening,’ he said, ‘friends of Sebastian?’  
‘Yes,’ Maria said with a smile, ‘I’m Maria and this is my friend Erin.’  
‘Maria! Nice to meet you, come in, come in,’ and with that, he beckoned us in through the tiled porch and into the long hallway before he stopped and turned to us.   
‘Why don’t you give me your coats?’ he asked gesturing for us to disrobe, we followed his instructions as he spoke, ‘There’s food laid out in the dining room and plenty of drinks being served in the kitchen so feel free to help yourselves. The party is just through there but I’m afraid Sebastian and most of his friends have tucked themselves away in the basement, which is just down those steps there, I’m sure you’ll want to join him.’   
‘Thanks, Mr. Stan.’ 

The hall was elegant and we followed Mr Stan as he walked down it watching him as he signalled to the stairs that led to the basement. We thanked him again before traipsing down them in search of the party. The large basement was dimly lit and crammed with around 40 people or so. There was a low thud of rock music ringing through the air which came as a stark contrast from the low hum of classical music that circulated through the other floors. Seb spotted us from across the room and made his way over with gusto, squeezing through the people that were congregated in small clusters, reaching the bottom of the stairs just as we did. Giving Maria a quick kiss he leaned in a gave me a quick hug and peck on the cheek as he said, ‘hey guys, glad you made it! You found the house okay?’

He smelled vaguely of beer though his behaviour didn’t suggest he was anything more than buzzed.   
‘Yeah,’ Maria said, ‘parking was a bit of a nightmare though.’  
‘That’s because dad invites every man and his dog to these things,’ Seb said with a slightly bitter tone.  
‘Is that who those people upstairs are?’ I asked.  
‘Yeah,’ he said rolling his eyes, ‘this is the real party. Just good friends, beer and music. The other people are some family but mostly everyone my dad works with or wants to. Birthdays are an excellent networking opportunity.’  
‘Well, at least they bought all that booze huh?’ Maria said with a twinkle in her eye as she nodded her head towards the cooler in the corner near a table full of spirits.   
‘At least,’ Seb chuckled, ‘come on I’ll fix you a drink. Erin?’  
‘Just a beer, thanks.’

And with that, the two of them made their way over to the table in a rampant discussion leaving me stood on the bottom step alone. I stepped down and wandered slowly through the room at a loss as I realised the only people I knew here were wrapped up in one another for a least another ten minutes. As I scanned the room for a place to sit I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and I looked up to see Chris beaming down at me as he stood by my side.   
‘Hey,’ he smiled.   
‘Hey.’   
‘Don’t know anyone huh?’   
‘Is it that obvious?’ I chuckled, pulling out of his grasp and turning to face him.  
‘Just a tad. Don’t worry I’m in the same boat.’  
‘Really?’  
‘Well kinda, I know people we just aren’t friends,’ he said leaning in and whispering, ‘Seb knows a lot of stuck up lawyers.’  
‘And you’re not one of them huh?’   
‘I’m talking to you, aren’t I?’ he said with a wink.  
‘Well, thanks for gracing me with your humbling presence.’  
‘No problem,’ he said. Sebastian and Maria made their way back through the crowd and stationed themselves with us as Chris went to get another drink. They were with me for only a moment before Seb glanced at his watch and sighed. 

‘Sorry, Erin but it’s time to mingle,’ he said looking towards the staircase for a brief second.  
‘Mingle?’ I asked, confused as to why he was directing the explanation at me.   
‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘I’m afraid I’m contracted to spend at least ten minutes of every hour sauntering around upstairs with all my dad’s associates.’  
‘Okay,’ I said still unsure of what he was getting at.   
‘And there’s no way I can get through it without this,’ he said picking the drink Chris had just brought back with him before grabbing Maria and pulling her closer with his other arm, ‘and this.’  
‘Me?’ Maria asked and for once she actually looked nervous about socialising with a spouse’s friends. It was usually such a breeze for her.  
‘Yeah sweetheart,’ he said before he led her away from our small quartet and walked upstairs to the other party leaving Chris and me alone once more. 

‘Want another drink?’ he said gesturing to my nearly empty glass before saying with a smirk, ‘I need a new one anyway.’  
‘You don’t have to stay with me you know.’  
‘I know.’  
‘I mean you- wait you know?’  
‘Yeah.’  
‘I just mean to say that I’ll be fine on my own you don’t have to be nice. We don’t really know each other and these are your friends and-’  
‘I know. And I’m not being nice. Believe it or not, I don’t mind spending time with you.’  
‘Even after I was so rude when we met.’  
‘Even then. Besides, Seb and Maria is sort of full on. It’s nice having another third wheel.’  
‘Tell me about it.’

As Chris got into a discussion with a man he knew from college I moved away to the small table of food that was pushed up against the back wall of the large basement. I was there for only a second before I was approached a guy who stumbled into my eyeline with a cheesy line and a stench of beer. I was stuck for a good five minutes before my phone graciously pinged and I could throw my attention to it. 

Message request from Chris Evans, 23:44 pm  
Want help?  
Me 23:44pm  
Yes please x

As I texted the man continued to babble but fortunately it wasn’t long before Chris sidled up next to me and placed his arm around my shoulders. The man seemed to stiffen as he saw Chris approach and he straightened up.   
‘Hey Chris, you alright?’  
‘Yeah man, I’m good. I just need to borrow Erin here, that alright.’  
‘Yeah, man course it is. We were just talking.’   
I smiled graciously as Chris lead me away before I turned to him and whispered my barrage of thanks causing him to chuckle.   
‘Yeah, Craig’s a good guy for a laugh. He’s kind of a lot when he’s drunk though.’

We stayed together after that chatting at length between everything and anything with Maria and Seb checking in at various intervals. Around 2 am, the crowd had dwindled and having not had drank a drop of alcohol all night I was starting to get tired. The remaining crowd was so steamed I was ready for my bed.   
‘Tired?’ Chris said, noticing I was yawning more frequently.  
‘Yeah,’ I sighed, ‘I’m designated driver and Maria looks like she isn’t slowing down for anyone.’   
‘I’m sure I'll make sure she gets home safe, if not, at least that she has a warm bed in one of the hundred rooms here for the night.’  
‘True.’  
‘Come on, you’re released from best friend duties, she’s doing just fine. Besides, you can take me home if you want.’  
‘Ah, always a hidden agenda.’  
‘What can I say? Lawyered.’


	6. You're Wrong

After the party, things sort of became fully committed for Maria and Seb. I had almost never seen her this crazy about a partner before but since she had met his parents and they had liked her she seemed all the more intent on having a serious relationship. I was happy for her. She had bounced around from partner to partner through all of our twenties and though there had been some that she really liked, if not loved, she had always held herself back from the fear of getting hurt. But Seb, Seb seemed to have changed something about her and I loved it. That being said, it was harder on me. She spent most of her off time with Seb, not that I begrudged her. I understood that new relationships are important and she didn’t ignore me completely. But between her work, Seb and other commitments I saw her infrequently over the next few weeks.

 That was where Chris stepped in. He had been a GGodsendif truth be told. I liked having him as a friend and I though was under no illusion that our friendship had been built out of convenience I had nevertheless I enjoyed myself.  After I dropped him off after Seb’s birthday party we exchanged numbers and spent most of the next day’s texting.

‘So Seb asked me to come away with him for a few days…’ Maria had stopped in at the hospital for a spot of lunch before heading back to her office having been with clients all morning. She started to tell me about her impromptu trip to Paris with Seb when my phone pinged. Ushering her to continue I opened the text from Chris that continued the conversation we’d been having this morning about hockey being a better sport than football.

‘He said we’re going to go to his parent’s villa in the south of France! A villa-’ Ping ‘-its where they used to vacation when Seb’s dad was working. So, it’s in a business city more than leisure but apparently, it’s a lot of fun. He said we may even be able to go-’ Ping ‘- Paris. I’ve never been to Paris. I can’t wait. I mean the closest I’ve ever been was taking a my mom’s church group to Lourdes. And that was because we couldn’t afford to fly the extra two hours to the Vatican-’ Ping, ‘Father Nilan was so excited and then it turned out they could only get two or three people there max-’ ping ‘and oh my god, who is texting you this much!’ Maria looked at me with a stern face causing me to look up from my phone with a grimace.

‘Sorry, I was listening honestly.’

‘Yeah really looks like it,’ she said in a sarcastic tone, ‘who’s texting you?’

‘Chris.’

‘Chris? As in Seb’s Chris?’

‘Didn’t know that they were and item but yeah, Seb’s Chris,’ I said with a chuckle.

‘You know what I mean,’ she said as she leant across and stole a French fry off of my plate, ‘since when have the two of you been texting each other.’

‘A couple of weeks. Since Seb’s birthday.’

‘Mmhmm,’ she said a smug expression littered over her face. I hated her smug face.

‘What?’ I demanded.

‘Nothing, nothing. I just didn’t know there was anything go on with you two. That’s all.

 

I sat for a minute pouting. There was no way to reason with Maria she was a person of her own and her opinions on matters tended to be final, I had learned that over twenty years there was no reasoning with her nevertheless I persisted, ‘What? There’s nothing going on between me and Chris.’

‘Sure,’ she said with a coy smile.

‘There’s not! Hes my friend.’

‘Well whatever,’ she said cutting off any of my protests, ‘I’m glad you’ve got yourself a friend, after the last one was such a douchebag.’

 

I didn’t argue, even though she slipped the word friend out with complimentary air quotes. Instead, I decided to change the subject.                                                                                  ‘So, you’re going to Paris huh?’

She noted my change in topic but let it slip and dove back into the details of her France trip. Once I said goodbye to Maria I headed back to the floor from the cafeteria and back to work.

Message from Chris                                                                                                                How can you think that hockey is better than football? It’s the American sport!  
 **Message to Chris                                                                                                                        A misguided choice**  
Message from Chris                                                                                                                You’re crazy ahah                                                                                                                Football is about skill, hockey is two dudes smashing into each other  
 **Message to Chris**  
 **That’s not true!! Hockey is about skill with the added excitement of a fight**


	7. Bruins and Breakfast

After a two-week stint of night shifts, my regular routine was in sight and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. The trouble was getting my sleep pattern to fall back into a regular schedule. It had been proving difficult so I had spent my days off pottering around the house and doing the chores I had neglected whilst at work and in all honesty napping. 

As the weekend drew nearer my return to my normal schedule was looming, a fact that I was not prepared for, this was reiterated by the fact I was currently falling asleep in front of the TV at 6 pm on a Saturday night. I lay stretched out on my couch with my cat, Tony, stretched out beside me. The warmth of him against my side and the gentle rumble of his purrs were soothing and caused my eyes to droop and sleep to claim me. Unsure of how long I’d been out I was woken suddenly by a knock at the door. So, I sat up and stretched nudging Tony off the couch, much to his irritation, as I moved. Getting up I shuffled out into the small hallway and to the front door before I pulled it open. 

In front of me stood Chris. He was more casual than any other time I had seen him, most if not all the times we had met he had been decked out in a suit whereas now he wore jeans and a t-shirt covered by a light jacket. He smiled as I opened the door though it dimmed slightly as he took in my what I can only assume to be a bedraggled appearance and said, ‘hey......we still on for tonight?’

I looked at him blankly for a second as I allowed my brain to run back through every conversation I’d ever had with him in an attempt to determine what the hell was going on. Before I could answer Chris continued, with a smile but his tone sounded dismayed, as he said, ‘the game?’

Like stars aligning my night-shift-nap-hazed brain clicked into place and remembered a text chain from about a week ago where we arrange for go to a Bruins game together.

‘Definitely,’ I lied, ‘come in I’ll not be a second.’

Chris moved into the house behind me and I ushered him into the living room quickly. He sat on the couch whilst I made a hurried excuse and fled to the safety of my bedroom. Stripping the yoga pants and t-shirt I had been wearing off I threw on some jeans and my old Bruins jersey before brushing my hair and teeth quickly. Where I would generally have done my makeup I figured time was of the essence and making Chris wait even further would be down-right rude. With my shoes and bag in hand, I ran back downstairs in record time to find Chris with Tony on his knee purring happily. 

‘I’m ready,’ I said grabbing my keys off the hall table and stuffing them in my bag before I threw my shoes on the ground and slipped into them as I looked into the living room.

Begrudgingly, after a dirty look at me, Tony moved off of Chris’ lap sensing he was ready to move. He trotted off past me and headed upstairs as Chris moved out of the living room. I moved ahead of him and out of the front door waiting for him to step through so I could lock it. The two of us walked in relative silence, Chris started a conversation though it was caught short as the two of us had to move away from each other to get into either side of the car and the fact that I was still half asleep.

As Chris climbed into the driver’s side I got in beside him as he started the engine. He paid attention to the road as he manoeuvred out of my street and I remained quiet as I came around to the waking world with a loud yawn.   
‘Tired huh?’ he said as he noted my yawn and looked over at me with a smirk.   
‘Yeah,’ I said though it was punctuated with another yawn, ‘just a bit.’  
‘Forgot I was coming huh?’ he said.   
‘Of course not, I just-’ I started to think of an excuse but my mind was fogged and I couldn’t say anything yet I could feel a blush creep up my neck.  
‘It’s okay,’ he said noting my embarrassment, ‘I should have reminded you we made this plan a week ago. You didn’t have to come if you didn’t want you know, I wouldn’t have minded if you had changed your mind.’

Embarrassed even further at Chris thinking I didn’t want to spend time with him I reached across the small gap between our seats and placed my hand on his bicep. He looked at me for a fraction of a second as I started to explain myself.   
‘It’s not you honestly. I’ve been on night shifts for the past few weeks and my body clock is all out of whack. I feel inhuman at times. I get up to go to work for 14 hours then climb into bed ready to do it all again the next evening. I’ve not seen anyone in the past week so when I agreed to come with you I was really excited about it. If only for the fact I’m totally going to prove you wrong about hockey,’ I smirked.   
‘Not true,’ Chris chortled, ‘but go on.’  
‘I’ve been off work for like three days and I’ve done nothing but eat and sleep so I totally forgot about the game, even more so when I fell asleep like an hour ago,’ I laughed.  
‘I suppose I’ll not take it to heart then.’  
‘Nah no need to. I love going to a game even if it’s with a hockey heathen like you.’  
‘Oh, you’re going to go there are you,’ he said beaming, ‘I’ll have you know that you can’t be a heathen if the games not worth idolising.’  
‘Oh, and football is? Pffft.’  
‘You know nothing.’  
‘We’ll see when you have the time of your life tonight’  
‘Oh sure,’ he said rolling his eyes.

The car pulled off the small side streets and onto the I-90 I grabbed the bag I brought with me and rifled through it looking for my purse, ‘how much do I owe you for tickets?’   
‘My treat,’ Chris said waving me off.  
‘Come one let me pay my way,’ I replied.   
‘Nah, honestly don’t worry about it. You can get the next one.’ 

I was about to respond sarcastically, by I cut myself short and decided not to. My stomach did a small flip-flop as I thought back to the first time I had ever met. It had been a setup and though I was sure Chris was on the same wavelength as me I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a different element to our relationship that I had been oblivious to. I decided to shake the thought from my head and decided that I was reading too much into it. Friends did stuff like this all the time. I was being ridiculous.   
‘You know that’s going to be hard, right? Football season doesn’t start until like September.’  
‘You can hit me back then don’t worry about it. And if you’re such a football hater how come you know when the season starts?’ he said trying to trip me up.   
‘Like you said it’s the American sport, well the wrong and poorly chosen American past time it’s kind of hard to ignore. Besides my dad loved football. He played in college and high school so we used to watch every game when I was little. It was only when my brothers took an interest in hockey he sort of chose to watch that more.’  
‘Yeah, my dad and my brother and I used to watch a game every Sunday after church.’  
‘You went to church?’   
‘Yeah, it was my mom’s thing. We all used to go when we were little and then it was our choice later in life.’  
‘You still go?’ I asked he wasn’t looking at me. His face was focused on the road as he weaved seamlessly in and out of traffic though I did notice the smile that crept onto his face as he spoke about his family, I found it truly endearing.  
‘Nah, only on occasion. I’m always so busy at work and on the weekends, I just want to chill out. Besides I live in the city now so I don’t really like going.’  
‘I know what you mean, I only like going to my hometown parish.’  
‘Me too. I only go when I visit my folks, sometimes if I’m visiting my sister and her kids I’ll make sure to go extra early so I can join them and we can get food later but other than that not really.’  
‘Yeah, I know what you mean. I’m more of a seasonal catholic.’  
‘Hmm?’  
‘As I only go when it’s the season. Christmas and Easter the guilt practically forces me to go otherwise I can’t deal with myself. Or my mom or Maria lectures me until I feel like I have to.’  
‘Then you’re going for all the wrong reasons don’t you think?’   
‘I suppose so,’ I muttered. 

As Chris pulled off the freeway we moved into a long line of traffic which all seemed to be heading towards the stadium. We chatted some more about tonight’s prospects of winning and the teams overall season so far. Chris was somewhat aware of how things were going, I had a sneaking suspicion he had read up on his Bruin’s history before tonight but still needed a recap from time to time. 

Though the crowds were dense and large, Chris’ 6-foot frame had no trouble navigating through the thousands of people with ease. I, on the other hand, was struggling not to disappear. My small stature and little legs were moving at twice the speed in an attempt to follow Chris through the crowd. As he made it to the doors, some way ahead of me, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet in what I could only assume was looking for our tickets. He seemed surprised to find me more than ten feet away when he turned around to announce my presence to the steward who would be admitting us to the ground. 

He chuckled as I approached the two of them and the two of us were admitted into the ground.   
‘Having some trouble huh?’ he said with a smile. I scowled at him and rolled my eyes before saying, ‘hey! It’s not as easy for us shorter people. Some of us can’t sprint the length of a football field in like four strides you know.’  
‘Woah, woah, woah,’ he said raising his hands up in defeat, ‘don’t worry about it. I can slow down. I’ll even give you piggyback ride if you ask nicely.’ 

I rolled my eyes but smiled none the less, ‘Just tell me were not in the back part of the stadium. Those stairs are a killer.’  
‘Nah I think our seats are fairly decent.’

Decent was not the word. The seats Chris had managed to get were almost rink side, centre ice. I was floored. We moved down the steps and into our seats awaiting the start of the game.   
‘Chris these seats are amazing. How did you get tickets like this?’   
‘One of the owners has an account with the firm so I asked Seb and he managed to get me some good tickets. It was no bother really.’  
‘That’s why you offered to pay huh?’ I said teasingly.  
‘What can I say you’re a cheap date.’   
‘Now I don’t feel bad about not paying.’   
‘You can still get the next one if you feel like it,’ he teased. I laughed though I was sure the sound was unable to be heard for at that moment my stomach decided to do the loudest rumble it had ever done.   
‘How about I get some food? And we split the next one?’   
‘Sounds good.’

Chris tried to come with me but I waved him off and insisted I could take care of it myself and after I listened to what he wanted I was off to the refreshment stand. By the time I got back, the game was almost starting and our conversation slowed a little bit the two of us becoming enthralled by the game. We chatted about the score in the intermission and the game in general. Halfway through the second third I got a text from Maria. 

Message from Maria  
Do you have my blue bathing suit??  
Message to Maria  
Ermm I don’t think so   
The little one with the criss-cross back?  
Message from Maria  
That’s the one  
Have you got it? I’m sure you had it when we went to Cabo last year  
Message to Maria  
Maybe? In the back of my closet somewhere.   
Why do you need it?  
Message from Maria  
It’s for France. I’m packing   
Message to Maria  
Like a week early?   
What’s the matter with you ahaha  
Message from Maria  
It’s next week!   
Message to Maria  
Whoops really?   
Night shift got me mixed up good and proper.   
I’ll have a look when I get home   
Thought it wasn’t like you to be organised  
Message from Maria   
You know me   
And okay   
Please message me so I can come get it. It makes me look stunning  
Message to Maria   
Modest as ever 

‘Sorry,’ I said placing my phone back in my bag. Chris had busied himself looking at the big screen but smiled when I apologised.   
‘No problem.’   
‘It was Maria. She’s freaking out because of a missing bikini.’  
‘Oh yeah they’re going to France next week, right?’ he said sipping his beer  
‘Yeah, she’s left packing to the last minute and she’s scrabbling around to get everything now. She always does it.’  
‘Think that’s bad I’ve lost my gym buddy for a week,’ he said with a laugh as he dramatically put his hand on his heart in despair.   
‘Poor you’ I sniggered.   
‘Yeah, whilst Seb is sunning himself half a world away I’m working out all on my lonesome.’  
‘You could always not go to the gym?’ I posed the suggestion with a quirked eyebrow. Chris vehemently shook his head.  
‘Can’t do that. It’s my stress buster.’   
‘Hmm, you could always recruit someone else to come with you?’   
‘Yeah, I suppose. It’s only a week after all….say you wouldn’t-’  
‘Nope. I’m only good for sport based activities that do not require participation,’ I replied gesturing my hand towards the men who were skating around the rink in front of us.  
‘Come on you might enjoy yourself. You’re not even taking me to a football game for tonight.’  
‘Because there isn’t one! Don’t try and lawyer me into this Evans’

He looked at me knowingly and I could truly see how he could be a lawyer. The looks and the persuasion in his arguments could sell ice to an Inuit. Even though I detested working out in public places preferring to exercise on my terms i.e. running I could feel my self yielding to his convincing arguments and alluring voice.   
‘How many days?’  
‘I go every day before work with Seb-’  
‘Woah there. There is no way you’re getting me anywhere near a gym 5 times a week.’  
‘Just try it, I’ll even treat you to breakfast.’  
‘One work out and breakfast every weekday.’  
‘Work out every weekday and breakfast after, even on a weekend with no work out.’  
‘Two workouts. Not before I go to work and breakfast every day.’   
‘Workout every other day. Breakfast is a given.’  
‘You’re a total sneak, Evans.’  
‘Is that a deal?’  
‘Fine.’ 

As I yielded there was a claxon. Bruins lost 4-1 and I couldn’t help feeling the same way.


	8. Airport Run

Why…did…I…agree…to this?’ I asked through pants as I did another set of sit-ups before collapsing back on the soft ground with an audible ‘Umph.’  
‘Because you didn’t want to leave me all alone,’ Chris smirked. He was knelt at my feet, holding them to the mat on the ground as my spotting partner.  
‘And why is that again?’ I asked feeling cheated. Maria was laid next to a pool in the south of France somewhere and I was lay on a mat in the gym feeling hot, sweaty and exhausted. Chris was a titan. In our normal friendship, he was caring and sweet, the gym turned him into a drill sergeant. Late last year Maria and I had joined a gym to ‘get fit’. In reality, we spent around 30mins doing a brisk walk on the treadmill looking at all the cuties before spending the rest the time in the sauna. We went approximately 4 times before deciding it would be easier to sit at home and scroll through our Instagram for cuties with wine. I still ended up paying for a year membership. Which is how I ended up here. Chris was coincidentally signed with the same chain of gyms so there was no stopping his idea of me joining his morning workout sessions. 

An hour later Chris announced that he was ready to stop and I thanked the gods. After a quick shower and change into my regular clothes, he and I met outside the gym.   
‘Where to?’ he said as I appeared through the automatic doors. He was dressed in his normal work attire, a form-fitting suit, whilst I had opted for a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt though I had put some makeup on as I had a day of running errands after breakfast.   
‘Wherever, I’m not bothered,’ I said just as my stomach betrayed me with a large gurgle, ‘just somewhere quick.’  
‘There’s a good place not too far from here,’ Chris said with a chuckle.   
‘Define not too far because I don’t think my legs can walk farther than 100 yards after that workout,’ I said as Chris set off in the direction, with me hot on his heels.   
‘Oh, come on,’ he said, ‘it wasn’t that bad.’  
‘Not that bad? Maybe not for Mr superhero body over here but I’m more of a laying on the couch eating pasta and drinking wine kind of gal.’   
‘Hey, I like eating pasta and drinking wine too! I just like to feel like I deserve it that’s all.’   
‘I deal with grumpy, rude, ill members of the public all week. I deserve it.’  
‘Fair enough…you’re still going to love it by the end of the week. I bet ya.’  
‘Just by me breakfast first and we’ll see.’

For two weeks Chris and I had breakfast together every day and gone to the gym the days I wasn’t working. Truth be told I was actually starting to enjoy myself and could definitely see and feel the rewards. Whilst driving to the airport to collect Maria and Seb I wondered if I would keep it up once Chris had his work out buddy back. I secretly hoped so. 

Getting to the airport had been no problem but parking proved a nightmare. The passenger collection lot was full and so I was forced to pay for parking at a garage away from the collection point and walk a distance. By the time I got to the terminal, I was clammy as I had dressed for the colder weather that had presented itself this morning which had now turned into an outrageously sunny day. I got to the gate just as Seb and Maria walked through. Seb was pushing a cart with Maria on his arm who immediately left him and ran over to me like an excited puppy. 

‘Oh my gosh, it’s so good to see you! I’ve missed you so much,’ she squealed as she grabbed me in a hug.  
‘You too, hey Seb,’ I said as he came up behind her.   
‘Hey,’ he said, ‘thanks for picking us up.’  
‘No problem,’ I replied.  
‘She’s been so excited to see you all the flight here,’ he chuckled earning a scathing look from Maria.  
‘I’ve missed her,’ she said, ‘it’s allowed.’

Maria and I walked ahead with Seb pushing the cart behind us as she filled me in on her trip.  
‘Oh my God Erin it was amazing! You have no idea.’  
‘Really?’  
‘Yeah. I’ve had such a good time. Luckily the weather was amazing so we spent almost every day outside. It only rained one day we were there.’  
‘And we kept ourselves busy,’ Seb said with a wink as he pulled up alongside me.  
‘Ssssh you. We made it into Paris for last weekend which was amazing. Seb really treated me.’  
‘It looked like it on Insta. That restaurant looked amazing, I loved your green dress.’  
‘Thanks, can you believe I got that discount! I would have spoken to you more but cell service was so sucky where we were. I didn’t get a data plan either so when we were out, like almost every day, I couldn’t message anyone. I was only really when we were at the villa we had wifi.’   
‘Don’t worry about it,’ I dismissed, ‘you know I can actually look after myself when you’re not here.’  
‘I know, I know,’ she said, ‘I just missed you.’  
‘I missed you too.’

The three of us walked the long way to the car as Maria filled me in on the rest of the trip. I don’t think the airport and home she took a breath. I was happy that she had had such a good time. Once situated and buckled up I headed across town to drop Seb off as he was furthest away from my house. He thanked me for helping and offered to give me money for my trouble which I declined and the two of us headed to Maria’s. 

No sooner than we were in the door we were on her couch with a glass of wine in hands her suitcases dumped in the hall.   
‘So how was your couple of weeks?’ she asked as she turned on a music channel on the TV.  
‘Alright I guess, spent most of it working.’  
‘Seb said you and Chris had been hanging out.’  
‘Yeah, a little bit, he was missing his workout buddy-’  
‘Woah, woah, woah. You worked out?!’ she asked with a laugh.   
‘It’s been known,’ I said defensively.  
‘Barely.’  
‘I had to have breakfast after as a compromise but yeah. I actually enjoyed myself, Chris is a titan about working out.’  
‘Seb too, he went on a run every day we were there.’  
‘You go with him?’  
‘Once, didn’t have suitable shoes.’   
‘Sure, sure,’ I laughed. 

The two of us chatted for the rest of the night and by 10 pm Maria was jetlagged and tipsy enough not to be able to get herself to bed. I took up her offer to stay in her spare room and helped her upstairs in her befuddled state. Just as I slid under the cover and put my phone on the bedside table it vibrated, continuously. I answered to hear a familiar voice on the end, ‘Hey.’  
‘Hey, Chris. What’s up?’  
‘Nothing, didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I?’   
‘Nah, I’m good.’  
‘Good, well um. I was just wondering if you wanted to go for breakfast tomorrow?’   
‘Aren’t you going to go to the gym with Seb tomorrow, with him being back and all?’  
‘Well yeah, but I thought we could get some breakfast after. You don’t have to if you don’t want to I just thought that-’  
‘No, no. I want to. Tell Seb he can come if he wants too.’  
‘Oh, okay will do.’  
‘No doubt I’ll still have Maria with me tomorrow morning. I suppose shell be a bit worse for wear atwork tomorrow.’  
‘Yeah?  
‘Yeah,’ I said. I don’t know how but I slipped into a conversation with Chris that lasted until around midnight. Exhausted I bid him goodnight before falling asleep.


	9. Caught In The Act

From Maria’s trip onward the breakfast meetups between Chris and I became a regular thing. Maria and Seb were usually also in attendance though Maria was adamant she would never succumb, as I had, to go to the gym. She dubbed me as brainwashed though I actually found that I had been enjoying myself.

On an early Monday morning, I found myself turning a corner in uptown Boston towards my new favourite place in the city. Spring had well and truly arrived and was speeding avidly towards summer. I was lucky enough that a heatwave had landed on my week off and as I headed towards the diner I basked in the sunlight. Taking a risk and hoping it wouldn’t rain I had opted for a light blue sundress and sandals to be my outfit of choice.

As I moseyed along the street I could see Chris and Seb awaiting my arrival. They were facing the street though they looked at each other as they spoke in conversation. Seb was layered in a clean-cut suit whereas Chris had a very relaxed look going on. His work attire was gone, replaced by only jeans, a thin jumper and sneakers. Seb noticed me coming down the street first and his eyes left Chris as he watched me and waved. Chris followed this distraction and mimicked Seb’s actions. I felt uncomfortable at this as I was still well over 50ft away and had now been forced to speed walk to the boys and could feel myself becoming sweaty and uncomfortable.

‘Hey,’ I said slightly breathless.  
‘Hey,’ they said in unison.   
‘You could have gone in you know,’ I said.   
‘I’m not staying,’ Seb said, ‘I’ve got to head into the office early unlike some. Maria just asked me to give you these.’ 

Seb raised an eyebrow towards Chris who gave him a shit-eating grin as he handed me a bag which I peeked inside of and found various pieces of clothing I had lent to her for a spread she had been doing in her latest column.   
‘Thanks,’ I said, ‘how come you can’t stay?’  
‘There’s a big remodel of the office going on so most of the employees have got the week off. I’m lucky enough that daddy dearest values my input so much he wants me to work regardless.’  
‘Lucky you.’  
‘You’re telling me.’   
‘The remodels going on all this week and maybe some of next week so people are working from home. Or playing hooky like some people,’ he said jerking his thumb at his friend.  
‘Yeah, at least we can pick when we do our work though. And I choose not to be doing work at 8 am,’ Chris said with a wink.  
‘Yeah, yeah,’ Seb said rolling his eyes, ‘have fun you two.’ 

Seb hugged me and then Chris before leaving us with a wave allowing the two of us to enter the diner and get settled ordering breakfast. We updated each other on our lives since the last time we saw each other and other things. We mainly ended up talking about how we planned to spend our free time.   
‘Are you doing anything special?’ he asked as he wiped his face with a napkin and placed it down on his cleared plate   
‘Nah, I’m meeting up with some college friends on Sunday and a couple of guys from work on Wednesday night but other than that no.’   
‘Me either, I’m headed up to see my family this weekend and I’ve got some work to do but I’m free all week. I can’t believe it.’   
‘You wanna hang out sometime?’  
‘Sure,’ Chris said taking a sip of his drink before looking at me excited, ‘I totally forgot, I’ve got a ticket to this classic rock cover band thing on Wednesday if you want to come. I was just gonna go alone but if you like it…’  
‘Sounds like a good idea,’ I agreed, ‘Wednesday?’  
‘Yeah, I’ll send you the ticket link.’ 

XXX

Wednesday rolled around quickly and Chris came to collect me late in the afternoon so we could have dinner before the gig. We headed to a restaurant, Chris was such a giddy kid it was unreal, before heading to the theatre. However, as we left the restaurant I found I was missing something. Chris was walking ahead to his car, chatting with me, and had failed to notice I had fallen well behind as I scrambled around my bag and looked in my purse. He stopped and turned around in confusion as he noticed my absence, evident in the lack of groaning at his unfunny dad jokes, and found me several feet behind him.

‘You okay?’ he asked walking towards me.  
‘Yeah fine,’ I said continuing to search through the deepest pockets of my never-ending bag.  
‘What have you lost?’   
‘Nothing, I don’t think I have anyway. But I was reading on my phone at dinner the email that comes with the ticket and it said that you need ID.’  
‘Okay,’ Chris said confused.  
‘So, I need my ID.’  
‘Ah. Is it not in your purse?’   
‘Nope, I know where it is though if we’ve got time to go get it.’  
‘Yeah, we’ve got an hour where are we going?’  
‘The hospital, it’s in my work locker.’   
‘To the hospital then,’ Chris said with a smile.

 

We got to the hospital in less than ten minutes and were in the surgical division locker room 5 minutes later. Chris came in with me and I walked him through some of my day at work as he listened intently to my ramblings.   
‘My lockers in here,’ I said as we deviated off the main corridor into a large locker room. I went directly to my locker and opened it grabbing my work purse and producing my ID from inside it before slipping it into my other bag and turning ready to leave. As I turned I found myself alone and Chris to be nowhere in sight.  
‘Hey Erin,’ I heard an excited voice giggle from around the corner. As I walked past some lockers I found Chris dressed up in scrubs and a long white coat (over his clothes).  
‘Really?’ I said in a flat tone though I couldn’t hide the smile on my face.  
‘I’m a doctor.’   
‘You’re a douchebag.’  
‘You love it.’  
‘Yeah, yeah, you know those scrubs probably have some guys blood or crap on them, right?’ I laughed as Chris’ eyes went wide, ‘I’m not kidding.’

My laughter got the better of me as Chris continued to look at me mortified before he looked at me with a devilish grin and headed towards me to embrace me in a hug.  
‘Oh no, don’t you dare Evans.’  
‘Oh Erin,’ he said in a sing-song voice as he came ever closer forcing me to inch backwards and of his reach, ‘come on, take one for the team. If I’ve gotta be covered in another dudes juices so do you. Solidarity.’  
‘You made the mistake not me,’ I said backing even further until I felt cold hard metal hit my back and I could move no further. In a lightning flash, Chris was ensnaring me in a hug and I was flailing hopelessly around trying to get out of his grasp. After I had satiated his childish glee he pulled off and immediately discarded the scrubs and coat back into the laundry hamper provided for all the doctors who had just finished a surgery. I laughed at his stupidity. As he deposited last of the clothing into the hamper the door opened and a couple of surgeons filed in. 

Including Tom. 

He looked up as he came in and his eyes landed on me as they scanned the room briefly. Noticing an unfamiliar face in the room with me he watched the two of us curiously before moving towards his locker with his friend. He looked as handsome as ever, his long, slender frame cloaked in tight-fitting scrubs and his sandy hair mussed from the scrub cap he had been wearing as he came in. 

‘Hey, we should get going,’ Chris said coming towards me getting over his minute of immaturity now there were other people in the room.   
‘Yeah,’ I said feeling Tom’s eyes bore into me as he changed in front of his locker. My eyes flicked to him and then Chris as I tried to restore my composure. I hadn’t seen Tom in months, mostly due to my own effort to exclusively avoid him.   
‘You alright? You’re not mad are you I was only joking I mean…’  
‘No, I know. It’s just we should really get going otherwise we’ll miss the start.’  
‘Got your ID.’  
‘Yep,’ I said patting my bag and gesturing for Chris to leave the room. I followed as he did and as I left I could feel eyes boring into my back watching the two of us leave.


	10. Close Encounters

I tried to put Tom out of my mind. I really did. But there was just something about him that got under my skin. That just seeing him ruined my day. Chris noticed almost immediately but I didn’t want to go through it all with him so I brushed off my weirdness with an excuse of feeling embarrassed I had been caught by senior staff. He bought it.

However, the lingering looks on Tom’s face, the sheer anger directed towards me was enough to be unnerving, and it spoiled my own weekend.

Come Monday morning I walked into work determined to put the thoughts behind me and get on with my duties. I made my way through the hospital and upstairs to my floor to the locker room I had been too with Chris a few days earlier. I looked in my locker for my scrubs and pulled them out dropping them on the bench behind me so I could put them on. I started to shrug off my clothes so I could change just as my closest work friend came in and went to the locker next to mine.  
‘Hey Laurie,’ I smiled at her.  
‘Hey darlin’,’ she smiled back at me, ‘good week off?’  
‘Yeah,’ I smiled though my mind darted back to the locker room again.  
‘Go anywhere special?’  
‘Nah,’ I said as I began to change into my scrubs and clip on my name badge, ‘I’m going away with my friend at the end of the year though. Spent most of my week off on the couch if truth be told.’  
‘That’s the only way sometimes honey,’ she chuckled, ‘well you missed nothing special. Mr Roberts went home but that’s about it.’  
‘He made it home huh?’ I smiled thinking of all the hard work we had put in with his case, ‘good for him.’  
‘Yeah, Dr Hiddleston even came down to say goodbye. Think the whole staff were in shock,’ she laughed to herself as my heart went icy. Sod’s law that I manage to avoid even thinking of Tom in months and at the same time I see him he comes up in conversation. Maybe he had before but I had never thought hard about it.

Thankfully the ward was busy enough that I had barely time to pee let alone think of anything that didn’t pertain to work. Everyone was eager to be filled with what I had done and told me all about what I had missed on my week off. I didn’t seem like anything exciting but I went through the motions nevertheless grateful for the further distractions from my ever-whirring mind. Finally. 8:30pm rolled around and I was able to handover to the oncoming nurse and leave. Having done so in record time, longing for my bed, I was the first one into the locker room. I moved slowly to my locker and opened it before sloughing off my scrub top and throwing it in my bag for washing.

That was when I heard the subtle closing of a door and footsteps. I turned around and there he was Tom. His face was calm and collected as his eyes darted around the room checking for other people before he moved towards me.

‘Erin,’ he greeted.  
‘Tom,’ I said curtly as I turned back to my locker and continued to change.  
‘It was good seeing you the other day,’ he said as he sidled up to the locker next to mine and leant his back against it so he could look at me, ‘I feel as if I haven’t seen you in forever.’  
‘There’s a reason for that, remember?’ I said through gritted teeth. Shaking my head, I got my scrub bottoms off as quickly as possible and my jeans back on. I shoved things into my bag and threw it over my shoulder as I slammed my locker shut.  
‘Hey now,’ he said his British accent soothing to my ear much to my annoyance, ‘look what happened between us was…wrong but seeing you the other day-’  
‘Have you told your wife yet?’ I interjected turning to face him square on with my hands on my hips. Tom’s eyes narrowed as he looked down bashfully before he rubbed his hand on the back of his neck and looked at me, ‘thought so.’

‘I didn’t see the point,’ he muttered. I scoffed and moved away from my locker headed towards the door but Tom stood up tall and blocked my path, grabbing my wrist and rubbing it gently, ‘hey, don’t be like that.’  
‘Tom,’ I muttered as my heart raced at the feel of his thumb pad. He moved towards me even closer than before so much so that I could smell his cologne, mixed with sweat from the shift he had just pulled. He leant towards me and captured my chin with his finger tilting my head upwards so I was looking at him as he went to kiss me. I closed my eyes in anticipation before I snapped back to reality and gently pushed him away, ‘stop.’

His eyes snapped open and he scoffed, ‘what?’  
‘What do you mean, ‘what’? You just tried to kiss me. We’re broken up remember!’  
‘I know I’ve just missed you-’  
‘But not enough to leave your wife, huh? You’re ridiculous,’ I said moving out of his path. He allowed me to go for a minute but before I got to the door he spoke again.  
‘You sure this isn’t about the pretty boy you’re going out with huh?’

I was just about out of the room when I heard him and though I wanted to leave my feet remained rooted to the ground beneath me enraged at him. Turning around I said, ‘what?!’  
‘You know what I mean.’  
‘Is that what this is about? You’re jealous.’  
‘So, you admit you’re with someone else.’  
‘Oh my God! It is! You don’t come near me for months then you see me with someone else you’re all over me.’  
‘You were going to let me kiss you. Doesn’t exactly scream ‘over’ does it.’  
‘Oh please! You’re preposterous.’  
‘You know you can’t just forget about me with that dumb jock.’  
‘That’s none of your business! You don’t even know him. And who says I’m with him anyway-’  
‘The two of you looked pretty cosy the other night.’  
‘So, what? What’s it got to do with you, Tom. You’re nothing to do with me anymore. We’re broken up. Get over it,’ I said bitterly before turning to head for the door. I had just made it through when I heard his voice follow me as he spoke softly.  
‘We’ll see.’


	11. It's No One

‘So, he tried to kiss you?!’ Maria asked agog as she sipped her glass of wine. We were sat on my couch, not paying any attention to the film we had planned to watch.  
‘Sort of,’ I said taking a sip, ‘I don’t know. I don’t think that’s what he wanted. I don’t think he wanted anything serious, just wanted to prove he could. He saw Chris and me at the hospital the other day, his egos probably all bruised,’ I said with a shrug.  
‘Yeah probably. Well maybe next time he’ll think with his head instead of his pants and he won’t be married when he starts sleeping his way around the hospital,’ she said with irritated oomph.  
‘It’s not like that,’ I murmured.  
‘You’re not defending him, right?’ she scoffed.  
‘Of course not,’ I said feeling a bit self-conscious, ‘but it wasn’t like I was some stupid idiot in a long line of women. It was wrong, but it was unique.’  
‘Unique huh, lying cheating scumbag is more like it-’

She seemed as if she were going to start ranting but in a turn of saving grace, the doorbell rang. I took the opportunity and placed my glass down on the coffee table before I climbed out of my seat and went to the door to answer it. It opened to reveal Chris who stood before me armed with a beaming smile, a bottle of wine and a DVD.  
‘Hey,’ he smiled before he looked at me curiously, ‘you remembered right?’  
‘Remembered?’ I asked tentatively screwing my face up and cupping it in my hands wondering what I forgot.  
‘There you are!’ Maria’s voice elicited behind me and I turned to find her stood in the living room doorway, her hand on her hip as she smiled at Chris, ‘and you brought more wine. Brilliant. Come in.’

I looked at Chris perplexed as he did at me before we turned to follow her into the living room and back to the couch.  
‘Ri, what’s going on?’  
‘I invited him over,’ she said as if it were self-explanatory, ‘I invited Sebastian too. Thought we could have a nice night in.’  
‘As opposed to the girly night in we planned,’ I asked as Chris slid down into the chair next to me.  
‘Hey,’ he chuckled, ‘I’m not opposed to a girly night in.’  
‘So, face masks and wine it is then?’ she asked before she added, ‘Seb’s coming too. He’s always down for a face mask.’  
‘Oh, is he?’ Chris chuckled.  
‘Don’t tell him I said that.’  
‘My lips are sealed,’ Chris laughed, ‘hey Erin, you got some glasses?’  
‘Kitchen first cupboard on the left.’

Chris disappeared, and I heard him shuffling around my kitchen in search of glasses and another knock on the door. ‘I’ll get it,’ he shouted as he continued searching before he went and opened the door allowing Seb’s dulcet tones to sweep through the house as the pair chatted at the front door. I listened before I felt Maria’s hand on my knee and my attention was drawn back to her. ‘Don’t think I forget what we were talking about before,’ she said raising her eyebrows.  
‘What?’ I asked.  
‘Tom, you were getting all maudlin about him again,’ she said.  
‘I was not.’  
‘You so were. Look I saw what being with him and losing him did to you I don’t want you letting him get into your head.’  
‘Letting who into your head?’ Chris asked as the boys appeared in the living room and took their seats on the couch.  
‘No one-’  
‘Her ex-boyfriend.’

We spoke in unison and the boys looked at us curiously urging us to continue.  
‘The doctor guy?’ Seb asked as he slid next to Maria and pulled her into his body. She paused for a minute as allowed him to do so and continued as he pressed a kiss into her temple.  
‘That’s him,’ she said as she smiled at him.  
‘Yeah well, I’m not letting him do anything so can we just drop it okay,’ I asked grasping my glass of wine and taking a big swig as I felt the eyes on me from all sides of the room causing me to blush a deep crimson.  
‘Bad break up huh?’ Chris asked with an edge.  
‘I’ll say,’ Maria snorted.  
‘Maria!’ I sighed rolling my eyes, ‘can we just leave this!’  
‘You can’t start a story and not finish it,’ Seb said.  
‘I didn’t start anything!’ I said defensively.  
‘Basically,’ Maria started, ‘Erin hasn’t seen her ex in like 6 months which is completely crazy because the two of them work together. He’s a major douchebag and completely fucked her over. She saw him the other day and he’s still a complete dick, but I just warned her not to let him charm his way back in.;  
‘Thanks Ri.’  
‘Maria’s right,’ Chris said, ‘if he’s that bad you should listen to her.’  
‘Yeah, well luckily its nothing to do with any of you and how I deal with things is completely up to me,’ I sighed, ‘and now. If we’re all satisfied with talking about my love life I suggest we put that DVD on. Who wants popcorn?’

Feeling the heat in my cheeks and the sting of tears from embarrassment in my eyes I didn’t even wait for a response before I threw myself up off the couch and walked into the kitchen. Embarrassed was not the word. I couldn’t believe Maria had sold me out like that. I wasn’t as if I was even contemplating doing anything with tom. I felt stupid enough falling for him in the first place but the lack of faith in me, putting me on the spot in front of the others was just not fair. Once I composed myself I brought Chris’ other bottle of wine and a bowl of popcorn back into the living room.

‘Yeah,’ Sebastian said as I walked in the room, ‘big black SUV. Cut me right up as I moved to park in front. Didn’t even look at me.’  
‘It’s always like this around here,’ Maria said, ‘you’d think we so many families around here they’d be more careful, right Erin?’  
‘What? Oh yeah,’ I muttered, ‘the kids around here are terrible too. They never watch the street when are crossing, the number of accidents that have nearly happened around here is unreal.’  
‘Even more reason to watch out,’ Maria said as they started a debate about the driving in general around Boston. I joined in at some points, but I could feel Chris’ eyes on me from the other chair and I tried not to meet his gaze though I failed miserably. Our eyes met, and I smiled at him meekly which he returned though I could practically hear his mind spinning at a mile a minute about me and Tom.


	12. 3 New Messages

I hated Chris Evans. Absolutely loathed him. And I’ll tell you why.

We had been friends for a while now. He was a good guy and I enjoyed his company the only problem is that he kind of a health nut. And that’s why I hated him, for if we were not such good friends I wouldn’t currently be jogging around Ringer park, sweating like a pig with my underwear up my butt crack and my legs chaffing in my slightly too small yoga pants.

He had brainwashed me you see. Convinced me that I enjoyed exercise and ever since I had joined him at the gym I found he was right. I enjoyed working out. I enjoyed running and so I now willing gave away one morning of my week to run around a park in a running club. I wasn’t alone of course. I was joined by Maria and 10 other gorgeous middle-class women who fit in their workouts before shopping and Pilates. Stunning women, who never jiggled as they run and were delicately tucked into their tiny shorts with their makeup still intact even though they had an elegant sheen across their forehead.

And despite all that I didn’t half mind it. I enjoyed myself.  
Damn Evans.

After we finished our run we dispersed to our cars and headed about our days. Maria headed to work whilst I headed home. Pulling into my drive I exited my car and went to my letterbox to collect my mail before heading inside. Kicking my shoes off at the door I scanned through my mail looking through the coupons and bills with little enthusiasm. Placing them down on the phone table I noticed the flashing light signalling new messages and I clicked it on.

‘You have 3 new messages, first message,’ the automated voice clicked off to silence. The was a rustle and a hint of breathing on the other line but no one spoke. Weird.  
‘Second message,’ the voice continued, again nothing, ‘third message.  
‘Erin…Erin, is this your machine?’ there was the tell-tale beeps as numbers were pressed before the voice continued. It’s your grandpa, sorry I missed you. Give me a call when you can, me and grandma hope to see you soon, love you, kiddo,’ his gravelly voice clicked off and I chuckled. My grandpa was hopeless when it came to technology and his new cell was no exception. I wonder how many attempts it took to get my answering machine. I deleted all three before I grabbed my landline and dialled his number.

It transpired that Grandpa had an appointment and was unable to get there. I obliged and headed to their house where I ended up spending most of my day. I was exhausted and well fed by the time I got home and practically fell into bed with sheer exhaustion. It was a peaceful night and I disturbed only once, around 3am, when the phone rang.

Befuddled and bleary-eyed I raised myself out of bed and fumbled on my nightstand for the other house phone. ‘Hello,’ I muttered into the phone with a yawn. To my confusion, I heard no response, ‘Hello? Is someone there?’

To my annoyance, there was still no response and I decided to let it go and hung up. Though as I attempted to go back to sleep I couldn’t fight the uneasy feeling in my stomach that something was wrong


End file.
